3ghttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/3168/all
enWeekend Recap: Amazon Prime Increase, Aereo New York Capacity, Marvel APIhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/weekend_recap_amazon_prime_increase_aereo_new_york_capacity_marvel_api
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/marvel_developer_portal_620px.png" alt="Marvel Developer Portal" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>So how about that Super Bowl? Given that your faithful recap writer isn't a particular fan of football, we largely missed the festivities, but that doesn't mean we weren't able to indulge in the commercials or partake of the requisite pizza and snacks just the same. It wasn't quite the same without an Apple commercial, but thankfully we've got some Cupertino-related news to kick off the post-Super Bowl week ahead...</p><h3>Not Cool, Man: Amazon Weighs $20-40 Increase for Prime</h3><p><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/30/5362620/amazon-considering-20-to-40-price-hike-to-prime-service-in-us" target="_blank">The Verge reported Thursday</a> that e-tailer Amazon.com is currently "considering" a price increase for its Prime subscription service, which has cost $79 per year since its inception. Of course, that was when the service offered only free two-day shipping on millions of items sold by the website -- in the nine years since, Amazon has made a huge push into streaming videos and TV shows as well as offering additional e-book lending perks to Kindle owners. During the company's most recent fourth quarter earnings call last week, executives flirted with the idea of raising Amazon Prime by $20 to $40 per year -- an amount that would still be a bargain for frequent shoppers, but a hard pill to swallow as the cost of nearly everything seems to be rising.</p><h3>Aereo Hits Full Capacity in New York City, Now "Sold Out"</h3><p><a href="http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Aereo-Is-Out-of-Capacity-in-New-York-City-127553" target="_blank">DSLReports.com reported Friday</a> that upstart over-the-air television provider now finds itself in another conundrum that doesn't involve broadcasters trying to sue it: The company has "sold out" of available capacity in New York. Currently available in 11 markets, an Aereo spokesperson confirmed the freeze on new signups in the region, calling it "strictly a capacity issue" the company is working hard to fix after "strong growth" in New York and other available markets. "Our team has been working overtime to add more capacity in our existing markets," Aereo said. "As soon as additional capacity is added, new consumers will be notified that they can sign up and create an Aereo account."</p><h3>Marvel Unleashes API for Huge Comic Book Archive</h3><p><a href="http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/31/21871/marvel_announces_the_release_of_the_api_program" target="_blank">Marvel Entertainment announced Friday</a> that the superhero maker has debuted a new application programming interface (API) for developers, giving them access to "portions of Marvel's comic data," which can be used on personal, non-commercial websites and applications. The API offers fans access to more than 30,000 comic books and 7,000 total series from Marvel's 75-year history, including cover art and characters that can be now be used in unique ways. To get started, <a href="http://developer.marvel.com" target="_blank">head to Marvel's new Developer Portal</a> and sign up for access today.</p><h3>Survey Claims Russian 3G Networks Unprepared for Olympics</h3><p>Heading to Sochi, Russia, for the Olympics this week? You might want to prepare yourself for sketchy 3G internet access. <a href="http://www.skyfire.com/blog/are-russias-mobile-networks-ready-for-next-weeks-olympics/" target="_blank">According to Skyfire</a>, a survey of Russian mobile networks conducted in conjunction with OpenSignal and On Device Research finds them ill-prepared for the crush of users about to arrive, with more than one-third of videos "subject to stalling and buffering" and more than a quarter resulting in "significant" stalling of 10 percent or more of playback time. And that's before millions descend upon the sleepy town on the Black Sea -- imagine how service will be once social-network-lovers start tweeting, posting and sharing their way through each event.</p><h3>PushMail App Finally Shuts Down Servers</h3><p>This is the end: <a href="http://dopushmail.com" target="_blank">PushMail</a> developer Simon Patarin shut down the servers powering his app over the weekend, two long years after removing the title from the App Store due to a lack of proper resources to support users. PushMail was the first iPhone application to use Apple's push notifications for email, but hadn't been updated since iOS 5, although it continued to work for us and many others. "PushMail servers are now shut down; two years after the app was removed from the AppStore," Patarin announced on the PushMail website over the weekend. "Forwarded emails will start to bounce on March 1st 2014. Remember to stop sending them!" Is that the sound of "Taps" we're hearing?<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/weekend_recap_amazon_prime_increase_aereo_new_york_capacity_marvel_api#commentsNews3gAereoAmazon PrimeAPImarvelNew YorkOlympicsPushMailRussiaSochisold outweekend recapwirelessiPadiPhoneiPodMacMon, 03 Feb 2014 13:21:19 +0000J.R. Bookwalter19219 at http://www.maclife.comAT&T Plans to Offer Stand-Alone $5-a-Day Data Plan for iPadshttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/att_plans_offer_standalone_5aday_data_plan_ipads
<!--paging_filter--><p>Using a Wi-Fi only iPad works well enough when you have an available connection, but sometimes emergencies strike and you find yourself wishing you had an LTE-enabled device. (Well, I do, anyway.) According to <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20131017/att-announces-5-tablet-day-passes-deal-to-power-teslas-in-car-wireless/" target="_blank">AllThingsD</a>, AT&amp;T's seeking to make those moments easier for us. It looks as though you'll still have to buy a cellular-enabled tablet, but AT&amp;T seeks to ease some of the prohibitive costs involved by introducing a 250 MB data plan for $5.00 a day when you need it.</p><p>That's enticing enough on its own, but AllThingsD adds that AT&amp;T hopes it works well enough that tablet users will use the plan over hotel Wi-Fi when on the road. (Considering that hotels often charge exorbitant prices for Internet use, that sounds very attractive, indeed.) AT&amp;T covered this and other possible options at GigaOm's Mobilize conference today in San Francisco.</p><p><img src="/files/u334114/2013/10/cellular.jpg" width="620" height="249" /></p><p>"We really think that a Wi-Fi-only tablet is good," said AT&amp;T senior VP Chris Penrose at the event, "but it is not good enough." Penrose also added that the cost of attaching cellular modules to tablets is going down, which in time should make the option more appealing to the many customers who only buy Wi-Fi enabled tablets.</p><p>In fact, AT&amp;T hopes that Apple and other tablet developers eventually does away with the distinction between Wi-Fi enabled tablets and cellular-enabled ones altogether, as it would mean many more customers for them and more convenience for us.</p><p><em>Follow this article's writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank">Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/att_plans_offer_standalone_5aday_data_plan_ipads#commentsNews3gAT&TcellulardataiPadLTETabletWi-FiThu, 17 Oct 2013 23:35:54 +0000Leif Johnson18353 at http://www.maclife.comAbout That New iPhone Design: If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix Ithttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/about_new_iphone_design_if_it_aint_broke_dont_fix_it
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u53/2012/08/screen_shot_2012-08-07_at_9.18.49_am.png" width="620" height="392" /><br /><br />If you've seen the pics of the purported next-generation iPhone built from allegedly leaked parts, you probably noticed it looks a whole lot like the iPhone 4/4S. While this may seem to poke at the persistent rumors of a Steve-overseen overhaul of the 5-year-old handset, the idea that Apple needed to ditch its glass-and-metal enclosure to transform the iPhone was always a bit farfetched.<br /><br />Think about it. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display, possibly the greatest laptop ever made--and certainly the best to ever come out of Cupertino's labs--is a ground-up redesign of the MacBook Pro, but the external differences are fairly subtle; only when placed side by side are the new ports and thinner body obvious. Yet using it still feels like a whole new experience.<br /><br />There was a time when Apple would have blown the doors off with the Retina MacBook, when it felt the need to make every new model starkly different from its predecessor: Power Mac cases sported mirror drive doors; iBooks changed colors and shapes; iMacs gained flexible necks. These aesthetic changes wasn’t always necessary, but they kept people interested in Apple products (even if they weren’t buying them). <br /><br />Simply put, Apple needed to make a splash with each new product just to get noticed. It doesn’t have that problem anymore.<br /><br />Now, Apple doesn’t need to rush back to the drawing board so quickly. The iMac hasn’t changed its form since 2007, and the Power Mac G5 has had its cheese-grater enclosure for the better part of a decade. Even the iPad hasn’t really changed its look all that much since it was introduced two years ago, yet each model is instantly distinguishable from the prior.<br /><br />With the iPhone, Apple has taken a slightly different tack. The original stands alone with its aluminum backing, but the next two polycarbonate models, the 3G and 3GS, retained a similar shape. It wasn't until the fourth generation when Apple completely scrapped the old design. However, the Leica-inspired design wasn't new for the sake of being new; a retina screen and front-facing camera likely necessitated the need for a redesign, as did scattered customer complaints about overheating and battery life issues.<br /><br />Antennagate aside, Apple hit the sweet sport with the iPhone 4. It's still one of the best designed phones on the market, and its industrial design is unmistakable. Where the iPhone 3GS was fairly pedestrian as a flagship handset (especially by the time it was replaced), the iPhone 4 is still as sleek and sexy as it ever was. Much like the iMac--which also graduated from polycarbonate to aluminum before adopting a unibody shell, much like the iPhone prototype--its design shows few if any signs of age.<br /><br />With or without a radical new design, we know the iPhone is going to fly off shelves. But more importantly, Apple's learned that it doesn't need to force the process. It's what's inside that counts.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/about_new_iphone_design_if_it_aint_broke_dont_fix_it#commentsNews3g3gsappleibooksiMaciphoneiPhone 4/4SMacBookPower Mac G5Proretina displayiPadiPhoneiPodMacTue, 07 Aug 2012 16:32:03 +0000Michael Simon14729 at http://www.maclife.comSprint Really, Really Wants You to Have an iPhone 4S for $149http://www.maclife.com/article/news/sprint_really_really_wants_you_have_iphone_4s_149
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/sprint_logo_200px.png" alt="Sprint logo" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />If you could care less about the forthcoming sixth-generation iPhone and are looking for a great deal with unlimited data, then head to the Sprint online store and take advantage of one.<br /><br /><a href="http://allthingsd.com/20120806/sprint-quietly-cuts-iphone-4s-price-to-149/" target="_blank">AllThingsD is reporting</a> that <a href="http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/shop/phone_details.jsp?ensembleId=885909538027&amp;flow=AAL&amp;isDeeplinked=true&amp;jsac=iphoneModal&amp;INTCID=AB:UPU:HERO:080412:4S:Modal:960x320" target="_blank">Sprint slashed $50 off the price of its entry-level iPhone 4S over the weekend</a>, bringing the price to an all-time low of $149 with two-year agreement.<br /><br />Even better, the new price comes with an additional $36 savings, because Sprint will waive your activation fee. On top of that, your new iPhone 4S will come with the only truly unlimited 3G data package available here in the United States -- no metering, no overages and no throttling.<br /><br />There's just one caveat: The deal is only valid on the Sprint.com online store, so you'll have to wait for your handset to arrive at your door rather than having the instant gratification of having it today. But hey, you're saving $86, right?<br /><br />(Might want to make that to caveats, since the next iPhone is rumored to be introduced around September 12 -- just over one month from now. But never mind that...)<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/sprint_really_really_wants_you_have_iphone_4s_149#commentsNews3gactivationsAgreementDealsDiscountsiPhone 4SOnlineSprintunlimited dataiPhoneTue, 07 Aug 2012 14:49:50 +0000J.R. Bookwalter14734 at http://www.maclife.comRecent Netflix Update Adds Option to Disable 3G Streaminghttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/recent_netflix_update_adds_option_disable_3g_streaming
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/netflix_2.2_200px.png" alt="Netflix for iOS new UI" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Streaming goliath Netflix released an update to its universal iOS app this week, which seemed fairly innocuous at first -- but among the minor tweaks is an option to completely disable streaming over a carrier’s data network.<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.netflix.com/" target="_blank">The Official Netflix Blog has posted further details</a> on the version 2.2 it released Wednesday to the App Store. Although the release notes don’t specifically mention it, the universal iOS app now allows users to completely disable streaming when a Wi-Fi network is unavailable via Settings.<br /><br />“We have expanded the settings menu in our App so you can now choose to only allow streaming from Netflix when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network,” the blog confirms.<br /><br />With carriers feeling the heat from their generally unpopular decision to cap or throttle 3G data plans, the move is an interesting one for Netflix, who also offers a number of quality options on their website for streaming to other devices such as the Roku.<br /><br />The Netflix 2.2 update more notably includes “a look and feel more consistent with the Netflix browse experience in our mobile applications” as well as “larger, more separated play controls appropriate for how people use these devices” and “better exploration during video play with thumbnail images on the scrub bar.”<br /><br />The update also brings easy access for audio/subtitles settings and other existing player features and Canadians now have an easier "do not share" capability for Facebook-connected members.<br /><br />As always, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/netflix/id363590051?mt=8" target="_blank">Netflix 2.2</a> is a free 12MB download from the App Store and the universal app is compatible with all devices running iOS 4.2 or later.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/recent_netflix_update_adds_option_disable_3g_streaming#commentsNews3gApp StoreCanadadata capsdata plansdata throttlingdisableFacebooknetflixsettingsstreamingWi-FiiPadiPhoneiPodFri, 01 Jun 2012 12:21:09 +0000J.R. Bookwalter14206 at http://www.maclife.comFriday Recap: “The New iPads Are Here! The New iPads Are Here!” Editionhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/friday_recap_%E2%80%9C_new_ipads_are_here_new_ipads_are_here%E2%80%9D_edition
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/sky_gamblers_air_supremacy_200px.png" alt="Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />If it seems quiet across the internet today, that’s because thousands of us are now holding the new iPad in our hot little hands, and we’re probably too busy jumping between Retina Display-enabled apps to do much else. By all accounts, today’s launch is another success for Apple, who appears to have beefed up inventory of the new iPad as many retail outlets still have stock remaining. You know what that means: Skim through today’s recap and then get to the store and buy one! Without further ado, here’s what’s making news for this Friday, March 16, 2012.</p><h3>App Updates: Sky Gamblers, Mac|Life, Where’s a Retina Instapaper?</h3><p>Now that the new iPad is finding happy homes in 10 countries around the world, those users are looking for apps to install on them. As luck would have it, Namco pushed out <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fsky-gamblers-air-supremacy s%252Fid505730036%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30&quot; target=&quot;itunes_store&quot;&gt;Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy" target="_blank">Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy</a> on Thursday night. You’ll recall the $4.99 Retina-ready app was one of a trio of apps featured during last week’s Apple keynote introducing the new iPad, and now “the ultimate air combat game” is ready to touchdown on your tablet.<br /><br />While it may not be Retina-ready quite yet, the Newsstand-enabled <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fmac-life-mac-iphone-ipad-everything%252Fid469917012%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30&quot; target=&quot;itunes_store&quot;&gt;Mac Life: The Mac, iPhone, iPad, &amp; Everything Apple Magazine" target="_blank">Mac|Life app</a> also got an update this morning to version 1.9, offering previews of each issue before purchasing (yay!), minor performance enhancements (excellent!) and the ability to print pages via AirPrint (awesome!). Great work, guys -- now let’s get cracking on that Retina update, shall we?<br /><br />Speaking of Retina Display upgrades, fans of <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Finstapaper%252Fid288545208%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30%22%20target=%22itunes_store%22%3EInstapaper" target="_blank">Instapaper</a> might be wondering why developer Marco Arment has nothing for them to download to their new iPad today. <a href="http://www.marco.org/2012/03/16/instapaper-for-retina-ipad" target="_blank">According to his blog</a>, it turns out that the Instapaper app does indeed include the necessary 2x resolution graphics -- but they won’t appear until the app is compiled using the iOS 5.1 SDK. Given that Arment already has a nifty 4.1 update nearly finished, he decided to hold off rushing out a patch release for Retina Display support and plans to submit the new version to Apple this weekend. (And just for the record, text still looks amazing in Instapaper on our new iPad.)</p><h3>Consumer Reports Says Unlimited Data Plans May Be Costing You More</h3><p>We’ve always wondered if clinging to our original iPhone’s unlimited data plan through AT&amp;T was worth the $30 each month, and <a href="http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2012/03/more-than-one-in-four-att-subscribers-would-pay-less-by-switching-to-a-metered-plan.html" target="_blank">now along comes Consumer Reports saying, “Not so much.”</a> As it turns out, “close to half of AT&amp;T customers with unlimited plans could save $10 a month by switching to a metered plan” -- and that’s not exactly chicken feed in today’s economy. According to usage data provided to CR by Validas, a full 48 percent of current AT&amp;T unlimited data subscribers use less than 300MB a month -- and by switching to the lowest plan available, they could save $120 over the course of a year (which is $240 over a two-year contract). Granted, most of us don’t want to part with our unlimited plans, which have been grandfathered with each new iPhone, especially since there’s no going back. But given that AT&amp;T is now slowing down your 3G speed when you hit 3GB each month, it’s not like “unlimited” means the same thing it did back in 2007 anyway...</p><h3>Your New Verizon iPad Can Also Run on AT&amp;T’s 3G Network</h3><p>We’re among those who opted for a Verizon 4G LTE model with the new iPad, which is why <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/16/new-verizon-ipad-runs-on-att-3g-networks-with-att-micro-sim/" target="_blank">we were quite thrilled to read this report from MacRumors</a> claiming that this model is also capable of using AT&amp;T -- but only at 3G speeds. “I was one of the first to obtain a Verizon iPad and can happily confirm that this is allowed,” exclaimed MacRumors forum member jsnuff1 earlier today. “I used my ATT iPhone 4S sim card and took out the Verizon sim, and data worked! You must apply the AT&amp;T APN carrier settings before this works though.” Because AT&amp;T’s 4G LTE uses a different radio band than Verizon, you’ll be limited to 3G -- but that includes using the carrier’s HSPA+, which they’ve rebranded as “4G” anyway. So, in a pinch you could yank the SIM card out of your iPhone 4/4S, slap it into your new iPad with Verizon 4G LTE and gobble up some of that aforementioned unlimited data we were just talking about.</p><h3>This American Life Issues Retraction on Apple Factory Story</h3><p>Ironic considering the new iPad just hit stores today, but <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/blog/2012/03/retracting-mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory" target="_blank">This American Life has posted a retraction</a> on a controversial story the radio show aired back in January about the factory working conditions at Foxconn, Apple’s manufacturing partner in China. The report used content from Mike Daisey’s monologue “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” itself culled from Daisey’s own visits to Foxconn. As it turns out, a Chinese interpreter hired during that visit has disputed a great deal of Daisey’s story, and today This American Life issued a rare retraction to this particular show over what they call “significant fabrications” in Daisey’s one-man show. “Daisey lied to me and to This American Life producer Brian Reed during the fact checking we did on the story, before it was broadcast,” the TAL blog notes. “That doesn't excuse the fact that we never should've put this on the air. In the end, this was our mistake.” The embarrassing retraction comes after broadcasting what TAL calls “the single most popular podcast in This American Life’s history, with 888,000 downloads and 206,000 streams to date.” Meanwhile, in Cupertino, Apple CEO Tim Cook has another reason to smile today…<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/friday_recap_%E2%80%9C_new_ipads_are_here_new_ipads_are_here%E2%80%9D_edition#commentsNews3gAT&Tdaily recapdata plansInstapaperiPad retina displaynamconew ipadSky GamblersThis American LifeverizoniPadiPhoneFri, 16 Mar 2012 19:48:18 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13569 at http://www.maclife.comThe Lifer: What's Up With the iPhone's Short Battery Life? http://www.maclife.com/article/columns/lifer_whats_iphones_short_battery_life
<!--paging_filter--><h3>Before you shake your fist solely at Apple’s engineers, Rik Myslewski asks you to consider several other charge-chugging factors.</h3><p><img src="/files/u129772/2010/06/rik_150.jpg" width="150" height="201" style="float: right;" class="graphic-right" /></p><p>If you’re not getting enough battery life out of your smartphone, don’t just blame the manufacturer. There’s more to how long a phone can operate than how big its battery is or how much time you spend streaming video or playing Tiny Wings--there’s the handset’s guts, services provided by your wireless carrier, and your phone’s software.<br /><br />Consider, for example, the physical bits and bobs that connect your phone to your carrier. Apple has caught flack for not yet offering a high-speed 4G phone, but the current 4G tech, LTE, is hard on batteries. Samsung’s Galaxy S II HD LTE, for example, requires an 1850 milliampere-hour (mAh) cell to keep its battery life acceptable--that’s 30 percent more juice than the iPhone 4S’s 1432 mAh. (Don’t worry about exactly what mAh means, just know that the more, the merrier.)<br /><br />In addition to a bigger battery, 4G requires more chippery. First, LTE doesn’t yet support voice calls--it’s currently used only for data. Verizon says that voiceover LTE--known as VoLTE, pronounced “voltey”--will arrive this year, and AT&amp;T says next year. But until it arrives, other circuitry is needed to carry voice. Second, you not only need 3G circuitry for voice, you also need it for data when 4G isn’t available, plus 2G circuitry for additional “fallback” insurance.</p><p>In addition to those 2G, 3G, and 4G voice and data radios, as they’re called, your smartphone has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth--and here’s where the network comes in to help increase battery life. Currently, smartphone users need to tell their phones when to turn Wi-Fi on and off. Instead, the network should sense what signals are available, and work seamlessly, instantly, and dynamically with the phone to use Wi-Fi, 4G, 3G, and 2G as needs require--a trick that would not only help battery life but also free up precious network bandwidth when the high-speed spectrum isn’t required.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/04/battery-energy-icon.jpg" width="398" height="400" /></p><p>A smarter network would also be better at handling what’s known in the trade as quality of service, abbreviated as QoS and pronounced “kwoss.” QoS support is a set of techniques that provides different levels of service depending upon what’s being transmitted. A Voice over Internet Protocol service (VoIP, pronounced like it looks) such as Skype requires a higher QoS than does, say, looking up a recipe for braised lamb shanks.<br /><br />Wireless carriers are working with network-equipment and software providers to develop application programming interfaces (APIs, spelled out, not pronounced “ay-pies” or “ape-eyes”) to allow a network’s assets to be more easily and efficiently accessed by developers. These APIs include hooks that make it easier to control different QoS levels--which brings us to our final battery-life variable: software.<br /><br />As might be guessed, the way software uses a smartphone’s processing and communications circuitry greatly affects battery life--and that includes not only software from third-party developers, but also a phone’s basic apps, operating system, and firmware--those latter bits being things that Apple has occasionally muffed.<br /><br />And here we run into a bit of a conundrum. A wireless carrier wants apps to have minimal effect on their network, a smartphone maker wants apps to have minimal effect on their handset’s battery life, but a developer wants apps to provide the richest possible user experience--and that often means increased battery suckage.<br /><br />Despite that conflict, we’re starting to see more and better cooperation among carriers, manufacturers, and developers, and more efficient APIs being made available at all levels from networks to operating systems. Add this cooperation to ever-improving chip efficiency and battery tech, and there will likely come a day when you’ll be able to stream Netflix or YouTube from dawn to dusk on your iPhone 6. Or 7. Or 8.</p><p>--<br /><br /><em>Since the late 1980s, Rik Myslewski has paid his rent by keeping an eye on Apple. He was editor-in-chief of&nbsp;</em>MacAddict<em>&nbsp;from 2001 until its transformation into&nbsp;</em>Mac|Life<em>&nbsp;in early 2007, and is now a member of the snarkily sophisticated team at London’s&nbsp;</em>The Register<em>, which is “biting the hand that feeds IT” daily at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.theregister.co.uk</a>.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/columns/lifer_whats_iphones_short_battery_life#comments2g3g4G LTEAPIapisAT&TbatteryBattery LifeColumnsLTESamsung GalaxySamsung Galaxy S IIthe liferverizoniPhoneTue, 21 Feb 2012 16:58:10 +0000Rik Myslewski13339 at http://www.maclife.comiPad 3 Announcement Coming March 7, 4G LTE Confirmed?http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ipad_3_announcement_coming_march_7_4g_lte_confirmed
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipad2_smartcover_200px.jpg" alt="iPad 2 with Smart Cover" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />It’s been quite a busy Monday evening since our daily recap was put to bed, particularly for those waiting on the rumored iPad 3 next month. A rumor about the announcement date was quickly confirmed, followed by additional confirmation that the next iPad will come packing 4G LTE for AT&amp;T and Verizon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/" target="_blank">MacRumors has collected</a> a volley of Monday night rumors about the next iPad, <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/13/ipad-3-announcement-on-march-7th-with-quad-core-and-4g-lte/" target="_blank">with iMore reporting</a> that the announcement itself will be held on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 -- just a hair over three weeks from today. That date was just as quickly confirmed by <a href="http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/02/13/ipad-3-event-pegged-for-march-7/" target="_blank">Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop</a>, who quoted the iMore post and replied with a simple “Yep.” Given Dalrymple’s own sources inside Apple, that’s probably all the confirmation one should need.<br /><br />But the guessing game doesn’t end there! The iPad 3 has widely been rumored to come packing 4G LTE radios, <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/13/wall-street-journal-confirms-4g-lte-ipad/" target="_blank">which <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> is confirming</a> with a report also published on Monday night.<br /><br />“Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&amp;T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up,” <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204062704577221960347109978.html" target="_blank">the report reads</a>. “Apple Inc. appears to be planning to announce the latest version of its tablet computer in the first week of March, according to another person briefed on the matter. Whether other carriers will also sell the device couldn't be learned.”<br /><br />The real question is how the next iPad will handle traditional 3G, given that LTE hasn’t gained any significant traction overseas to date. The report notes that a 4G LTE-equipped iPad would automatically switch to a “slower network technology” (presumably 3G or even EDGE, where available) when LTE isn’t available.<br /><br />You probably already know the rest of the iPad 3 story: 2048x1536 Retina Display, quad-core A6 processor and likely beefed up GPU. Is that credit card in your wallet or purse getting warm yet…?<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ipad_3_announcement_coming_march_7_4g_lte_confirmed#commentsNews3g4G LTEAnnouncementsapple eventsAT&TiPad 3retina displayRumorsverizonWall Street JournaliPadTue, 14 Feb 2012 14:11:08 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13279 at http://www.maclife.comWednesday PM Recap: iPad 3 Rumors, Amazon Adds Viacom, Path Makes Amendshttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/wednesday_pm_recap_ipad_3_rumors_amazon_adds_viacom_path_makes_amends
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/vonage_mobile_app_200px.png" alt="Vonage Mobile overview" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Hey, so forget what we said this morning about a news recap earlier in the day -- we’re happy to announce that, starting Thursday, we’ll be back to pushing out three full news items each weekday morning, plus the very news recap you’re reading each evening to catch up with the rest of the day’s events. All because you, the loyal MacLife.com reader, deserve it! So without further ado, let’s blast off into the rest of today’s news for Wednesday, February 8, 2012.</p><h3>Amazon Beefs Up Prime Instant Video with Viacom TV Catalog</h3><p>As rumored in the last few days, <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=1658381&amp;highlight=" target="_blank">Amazon today announced a new deal with Viacom</a> which will add 2,000 more titles to its Prime Instant Video service, encompassing the output from television networks MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land and VH1. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced on the company’s home page that the new deal brings Amazon’s offerings to 15,000 titles, including kiddie favorites like Dora the Explorer, comedy like Hot In Cleveland and reality TV, including past seasons of The Real World and yes, even Jersey Shore. (Face it: There’s no escaping it.) As usual, Prime Instant Videos require a $79 per year subscription which also nets customers with free two-day shipping. Sadly, there’s still no sign of an iOS app for watching all this content, but you can find it on the Kindle Fire, Mac and PC computers, Roku boxes and internet-connected HDTVs or Blu-ray players.</p><h3>Vonage Mobile App Gunning for Skype</h3><p>Can you feel that red dot on your forehead, Skype? That’s the sharpshooters at Vonage Mobile marking you for death -- or at least stepped-up competition. <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/8/2784294/vonage-mobile-app-for-android-and-ios-promises-to-undercut-skypes" target="_blank">According to The Verge</a>, the Vonage Mobile apps for iOS and Android are now offering VoIP calls “typically 30 percent cheaper than Skype’s rates, based on per-minute rates to the top 50 countries called.” Best of all, anyone can use the app -- even without a traditional Vonage subscription, thanks to in-app billing in increments of $4.99 or $9.99, billed straight to iTunes or Android Market. What could be better than that? How about free calls to any number in the U.S. or Canada for a limited time, and the ability to use your mobile number for Caller ID on outgoing calls? That clicking you hear is other users rushing to <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fvonage-mobile-free-international%252Fid491391564%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30&quot; target=&quot;itunes_store&quot;&gt;Vonage Mobile - Free International Calls &amp; Texts" target="_blank">download the free iOS app</a>, we’re guessing...</p><h3>A Guide to Those Crazy iPad 3 Rumors</h3><p>Having trouble keeping up with all these iPad 3 rumors flying fast and furious? Apparently, <a href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/19701/the_crazy_apple_rumors_guide_to_ipad_3" target="_blank">so was the staff at Computerworld, who has just cooked up a “Crazy Apple Rumors Guide to iPad 3.”</a> After a bit of background on how the iPad has grown over the last two generations, writer Jonny Evans lays out what we know so far: Better screen? Check. A6 processor? Check. Improved graphics processor? Check. Better camera? Check. LTE wireless support? Check. Will it be thicker or thinner? Check and check. (Say wha--?) Thunderbolt I/O? Maybe. Siri? Done and done. And on it goes, right down to NFC, 3D and Apple-supplied mapping. So when will we finally see all of this tablet goodness? How about later this month… or maybe next month. You know, those rumor mills just can’t be for certain...</p><h3>Path Co-Founder: “We Are Sorry”</h3><p>As we reported yesterday, the Path iOS app was caught with its hands in the proverbial cookie jar -- in this case, uploading users’ address book data without being given express permission to do so. Today, <a href="http://blog.path.com/post/17274932484/we-are-sorry" target="_blank">co-founder and CEO Dave Morin has announced the company is moving quickly to right this wrong</a>. While noting that no user data has ever been used for malicious purposes, Morin explains: “We believe you should have control when it comes to sharing your personal information. We also believe that actions speak louder than words. So, as a clear signal of our commitment to your privacy, we’ve deleted the entire collection of user uploaded contact information from our servers. Your trust matters to us and we want you to feel completely in control of your information on Path.” Furthermore, the promised <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=ApuPaiKIpxg&amp;offerid=146261&amp;type=3&amp;subid=0&amp;tmpid=1826&amp;RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fpath%252Fid403639508%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30&quot; target=&quot;itunes_store&quot;&gt;Path" target="_blank">Path 2.0.6 update is now available in the App Store</a>, which now prompts users to opt in or out of sharing phone contacts, which is used to discover others you may know on the service. Hats off to the Path gang -- and fear not, we still love you.</p><h3>Apple Eyes Standardized Royalties for 3G Wireless Patents</h3><p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/02/apple-takes-frand-issue-to-etsi-asks-for-common-frand-royalty-standards.ars" target="_blank">Ars Technica is reporting</a> that Apple wants to lead the charge for “standardized royalty rates” where 3G wireless networking is concerned. The problem stems from smartphone players such as Samsung and Motorola “leveraging patents essential to 3G wireless networking standards in lawsuits largely aimed at Apple” -- patents which were offered to standards body ETSI to “help create 3G standards on the condition that they be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.” Unfortunately, Apple’s chief IP attorney Bruce Watrous finds that the opposite is true, claiming “our industry suffers from a lack of consistence adherence to FRAND principles in the cellular standards arena.” The problem apparently stems from Samsung’s request for “a 2.4 percent royalty on the full retail price of every iPhone or iPad sold to cover its 3G-related patents, while Motorola has asked for 2.25 percent” -- amounts that Apple rightfully calls “unfair and unreasonable,” which is why the smartphone makers are suing Apple for patent infringement in the first place. “What Apple is arguing here is that the royalties should not apply to an entire iPhone or iPad, but rather to the basic hardware for 3G wireless radios,” the report explains, although there’s presumably no end in sight for the problem anytime soon.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/wednesday_pm_recap_ipad_3_rumors_amazon_adds_viacom_path_makes_amends#commentsNews3gAmazon Instant Videodaily recapETSIFRANDPatentsPathskypestreaming moviesViacomvoipvonageiPadiPhoneMacWed, 08 Feb 2012 23:31:24 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13251 at http://www.maclife.com10 Things We’d Like To See From The Next iPod Linehttp://www.maclife.com/article/features/10_things_we%E2%80%99d_see_next_ipod_line
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/which_ipod_are_you_chart_620px.png" alt="Which iPod are you?" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>By this time of the year, traditionally we’d be reporting on a treasure trove of rumors about new iPods, with Apple’s annual fall music event usually arriving in the month of September. That’s not the case now that the iPhone 5 is hogging the spotlight after being bumped from the WWDC lineup back in June -- but there are still some things we’d like to see Cupertino do with the decade-old media players.<br /><br />10 years old in 2011, the <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipod/" target="_blank">iPod</a> has been a robust offering for Apple, paving the way for big profits and setting the stage for the iPhone in 2007 -- and we all know how that has turned out for the company. As the glow around the iPod line wanes and the once-mighty media player becomes a second-class citizen languishing in the shadow of the iPhone, could Apple still have a few more surprises in store for the media player that revolutionized the music industry?<br /><br />We’d like to think so, which is why you’re about to read 10 things we still hope to see from the iPod as “the little music player that could” prepares for its double-digit birthday this fall.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/introducing_new_ipod_touch_620px.png" alt="Introducing the new iPod touch" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod touch: 3G Data</h3><p>If you want an iPod that acts like a phone, you’re not alone -- rumors have been heating up in recent days that Apple may introduce a new <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/" target="_blank">iPod touch</a> model that comes with prepaid 3G data, just like the iPad. But why would anyone want an always-connected iPod?<br /><br />Aside from being able to download apps, check email and surf the web from anywhere, the iPod touch could be a true disruptive force in the wireless market, especially for those who use VoIP services like Skype instead of traditional landline or cellular calls. Many of us rarely use an iPhone to actually make phone calls (ironic, we know) and dream of a contract-free, always-on device with cheap data. Here’s hoping Tim Cook and company agree with us.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/a_new_way_to_nano_620px.png" alt="A new way to nano" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod nano: iOS or Bust</h3><p>That cute little <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/" target="_blank">iPod nano</a> released last fall got a surge of initial interest -- until potential buyers discovered it was only aping the appearance of an iOS device and didn’t actually run App Store apps. While it’s still a popular, inexpensive choice with the more exercise-prone among us, we can’t help but think there’s still a whole lot of untapped potential for an iPod touch with a smaller display and cheaper price -- or maybe for the iPod nano to finally put the iPod shuffle out of its misery at last.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_shuffles_620px.png" alt="iPod shuffle colors" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod shuffle: Get Lost!</h3><p>We don’t exactly <em>hate</em> the i<a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/" target="_blank">Pod shuffle</a>, but in the day and age of the touchscreen, does an iPod without a display still make any sense? Maybe as a way to hook users on a budget into the iTunes ecosystem, but we’d rather see the iPod shuffle kind of shuffle off into the sunset -- or hook up with the iPod nano and make some cute little touchscreen babies.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_classic_620px.png" alt="iPod classic black" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod classic: Hang In There, Buddy</h3><p>Truthfully, we’d just be happy to see Apple keep the <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/" target="_blank">iPod classic</a> on life support this year, since it barely registered on last year’s radar. Call us nostalgic for the days of the original 5GB iPod 10 years ago, but a world without a maxi-sized, hard disk driven model just isn’t a world we want to live in.<br /><br />Of course, our opinion on that could be swayed if Apple does indeed release a 64GB iPhone this year as widely rumored (or an even bigger iPod touch, see below). After all, we’ve got about 34GB of music in our iTunes library, so we’ve had to leave an awful lot of our favorite obscure Tahitian heavy metal music at home while we travel, and that’s just not right. (Don’t go bother searching for that genre in iTunes, ‘cause we just made it up -- but you get the point.)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_touch_128gb_leak_620px.png" alt="iPod touch 128GB leak?" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod touch: 128GB, Anyone?</h3><p>Meanwhile, it appears Apple may have hit the storage ceiling on the iPod touch, which has remained at 64GB maximum for a couple of generations now. Truthfully, that should be more than enough for the average user, even with apps and video content thrown in for good measure.<br /><br />However, one sure way to make us all forget about the iPod classic would be to introduce something that comes close to its 160GB worth of hard disk storage. Apple claims the iPod classic can handle 40,000 songs so a 64GB iPod touch is like what, a measly 15,000 or so if you only load it up with music? Pffft.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_nano_with_camera_620px.png" alt="iPod nano with camera" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod nano: Give Us Back Our Camera</h3><p>It was a cruel move on Apple’s part to introduce a camera two years ago and then snatch it away from us with last year’s model. Sure, it was a crappy video-only camera, but kids everywhere loved it (at least the ones whose parents couldn’t afford the iPod touch, anyway).<br /><br />Assuming we can get Apple to bump off the iPod shuffle and move that square little iPod nano into its low-cost place, a new model could be introduced with a camera equivalent to the iPod touch -- although we’d just be happy with the 2009 camera, at the very least.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_classic_wi-fi_620px.png" alt="iPod classic with Wi-Fi?" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod classic/nano: Wi-Fi Inside</h3><p>Let’s assume for a moment that Apple heeds our advice and allows the iPod nano to consume the iPod shuffle, possibly keeping the tiny square introduced last September and coming up with something new -- something between an iPod nano and an iPod touch, let’s say. (iPod touch mini, anyone?) We figure the company would be smart to include Wi-Fi across the board in that case -- even in the aging iPod classic, which could finally do away with the wheel and be driven by a slightly larger touchscreen display.<br /><br />Before you poo-poo the idea as mere hogwash, it’s in Apple’s best interest to get Wi-Fi in the entire iPod line so those devices can become part of the forthcoming “PC-free” iTunes ecosystem -- even if they might not be capable of running all of the cool apps out there, there would be plenty that would make sense (games, at the very least).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_airplay_620px.png" alt="iPod AirPlay streaming" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod classic/nano: AirPlay</h3><p>Of course, once you put Wi-Fi inside the aging iPod line, that opens up a whole new world of possibilities, including <a href="http://www.apple.com/appletv/" target="_blank">AirPlay</a> support for beaming photos and music to your HDTV wirelessly. No one likes to view photos on that thumbnail-sized iPod nano screen anyway, and Apple could really hype it up at the keynote: “Incredible! Beam photos right from your fingertip to a 50-inch HDTV with the new iPod nano,” we can hear Steve Jobs -- er, Tim Cook -- exclaim. (We’d also be happy to add video to that equation, should Apple want to bring playback to the iPod nano again.)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_nano_bluetooth_gadget_620px.png" alt="iPod nano with Bluetooth dongle" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod shuffle/nano/classic: Bluetooth On Board</h3><p>With automakers making Bluetooth audio streaming capabilities standard with many new cars and wireless Bluetooth headphones getting cheaper all the time, Apple should empower the lower-end iPods with the chip necessary to take advantage of it. After all, why should the iPod touch have all the fun? Just because it has a Retina Display and other fancy hardware, that doesn’t make it better than the rest of ‘em.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/ipod_nano_watchband_620px.png" alt="iPod nano wristwatch" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>iPod watch: Just Because</h3><p>You weren’t the only one who thought last year’s iPod nano would make a pretty cool watch, with third parties soon filling the accessories void to do just that. Which begs the question: Why didn’t Apple just make one themselves? After all, the Dick Tracy watch has been a legendary concept among gadget lovers for decades, and yet nobody has quite gotten it right just yet. And hey, you know what? Everyone needs a watch, so… boom! We just blew your mind.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/features/10_things_we%E2%80%99d_see_next_ipod_line#comments3gbluetoothiPodiPod accessoriesipod classiciPod nanoipod nano watchbandsiPod shuffleiPod touchWi-FiwirelessFeaturesiPodThu, 15 Sep 2011 16:30:28 +0000J.R. Bookwalter12322 at http://www.maclife.comApple Asks For Return of MacBook Pro 3G Prototype After Genius Bar Rejectionhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_asks_return_macbook_pro_3g_prototype_after_genius_bar_rejection
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_3g_macbook_prototype_200px.png" alt="MacBook Pro prototype with 3G antenna" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Remember that odd MacBook Pro that turned up on eBay earlier this month sporting a MagSafe antenna and SIM slot? It turns out that Apple killed the auction and is now requesting the owner to return it, following an interesting saga involving Craigslist and a local Genius Bar.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20099494-248/apple-wants-its-3g-macbook-prototype-back/" target="_blank">Cnet is reporting</a> that Carl Frega, the North Carolina man who recently tried to sell a prototype MacBook Pro with 3G data on eBay, has now been approached by Apple requesting return of the unit. The move comes on the heels of Apple killing the auction after it reached $70,000, claiming the listing infringed on their copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights.<br /><br />As it turns out, the 2007-era MacBook Pro has had a bit of a wild ride prior to turning up on everyone’s radar on eBay three weeks ago. Apparently, Frega purchased the laptop from someone on Craigslist to use as parts for his repair business. Needless to say, he received a bit of a shock after opening the unit and discovering it was quite different inside, complete with a SIM card slot presumably used for a 3G data connection.<br /><br />Ironically, Frega had posted the notebook online once before -- <a href="http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2165252&amp;highlight=macbook+antenna" target="_blank">at the Anandtech forums</a>, where he searched for help on getting the unit working again but failed to garner much interest there. Convinced the unit had little value, he upgraded the hard drive, installed Mac OS X Snow Leopard and resold the unit on Craigslist.<br /><br />Apparently the new buyer had issues with the MacBook Pro and soon scheduled a Genius Bar appointment at the Apple Store in Raleigh, North Carolina. Much to the surprise of the Genius there, the unit was full of non-Apple parts and the laptop was turned away for service.<br /><br />"Opened machine to observe that nearly every internal part was third party; main logic board, optical drive, display, hard drive, top case, and others,” the Genius Bar report obtained by Cnet reads. “Machine serial number (W8707003Y53) is also not recognized as a valid number."<br /><br />The second buyer wound up taking Frega to small claims court over the sale, which resulted in an offer to have the case heard on the TV show <em>Judge Mathis </em>(which he declined) and an eventual judgment forcing Frega to repay the $740 -- which is how the MacBook Pro wound up back in his hands and was soon listed for sale on eBay.<br /><br />It’s not surprising that Apple is seeking to have the prototype returned, particularly after last year’s drama with the iPhone 4 leaked to the world by Gizmodo. Frega claims that someone from Apple has been in touch with him and is arranging to have the prototype picked up -- ending its curious saga, at least for now.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Image courtesy of MacRumors)</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_asks_return_macbook_pro_3g_prototype_after_genius_bar_rejection#commentsNews3gApple Inc.CraigslistdataebayGenius Barmacbook proMystery ProductprototypesMacWed, 31 Aug 2011 13:05:10 +0000J.R. Bookwalter12223 at http://www.maclife.comeBay Auction Reveals MacBook Pro Prototype with 3G Modem On Boardhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/ebay_auction_reveals_macbook_pro_prototype_3g_modem_board
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/macbook_pro_3g_antenna_200px.jpg" alt="MacBook Pro prototype with 3G antenna" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />It seems like every new iteration of Apple’s notebooks, there’s speculation about when the company might add integrated 3G data to the mix. It still isn’t happening just yet, but that doesn’t mean Cupertino isn’t entertaining the notion -- as evidenced by this 2007 MacBook Pro prototype which has turned up on eBay.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/14/photos-of-a-prototype-macbook-pro-with-integrated-3g-cellular-data/" target="_blank">MacRumors is reporting</a> that a 15-inch MacBook Pro from the 2007 Santa Rosa processor era <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Unreleased-PROTOTYPE-Apple-Macbook-Pro-15-3G-Dat-/140592419961?pt=Apple_Laptops&amp;hash=item20bbf61479" target="_blank">has turned up on eBay</a>, originally purchased from Craigslist for parts. Nothing strange there, right? Except that this particular unit is an Apple prototype “with a 3G antenna, 3G hardware and SIM card slot built in.”<br /><br />“Upon removing the top case it was immediately clear this was no normal Macbook Pro: the circuit boards inside were bright red as opposed to the normal blue!” <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Unreleased-PROTOTYPE-Apple-Macbook-Pro-15-3G-Dat-/140592419961?pt=Apple_Laptops&amp;hash=item20bbf61479" target="_blank">writes the eBay seller</a>, whose prototype is currently up to more than $11,000. “Further inspection found multiple differences from the stock version, most notably a feature never seen in a Macbook laptop of any kind: what appears to be a fully integrated cellular modem and SIM slot. There is an extendable cellular antenna located at the right top side of the display assembly (The antenna is marked with ‘Tyco Proto / #006’ when slid out), and a standard size SIM card slot located underneath the memory cover on the bottom of the machine. The SIM card board is connected to the logic board via a connector not found on production machines. The solder footprint for it is still present on the production boards and not populated, which is interesting.”<br /><br />“This would seem to suggest that it was a last minute decision to remove the cellular functionality before going into mass production,” the seller concludes. “The optical drive is marked as a ‘Sample for Evaluation.’ Rather than a normal EMC Number the specifications lapel simply says ‘XXXX,’ and the serial number does not show up in Apple's online database.”<br /><br />The good news for the auction winner (bidding closes August 20) is that the seller was able to repair the machine to working condition, although the 3G modem “is not presently functional,” despite being seen by the operating system. The inclusion of a SIM card means the 3G would have been GSM-bound, “allowing for use on AT&amp;T and many other international networks.”<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Image courtesy of MacRumors and eBay)</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ebay_auction_reveals_macbook_pro_prototype_3g_modem_board#commentsNews3gApple Inc.Craigslistdataebaymacbook promodemprototypesSanta RosaSIM cardMacMon, 15 Aug 2011 12:57:01 +0000J.R. Bookwalter12038 at http://www.maclife.comT-Mobile USA: One Million Unlocked iPhone Customers Servedhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/tmobile_usa_one_million_unlocked_iphone_customers_served
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/iphone_4_on_t-mobile_200px.jpg" alt="iPhone 4 on T-Mobile" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Although Apple only started offering officially unlocked iPhone 4 models in the United States earlier this month, that hasn’t stopped owners from using jailbreak methods to free their devices from AT&amp;T’s clutches and into the waiting arms of T-Mobile, who now claims there are more than a million such users on their network.<br /><br /><a href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/06/22/t-mobile-usa-were-now-carrying-over-a-million-unlocked-iphones/" target="_blank">9to5Mac is reporting</a> that “over a million” iPhones are actively running on T-Mobile USA’s network, despite the fact that Apple only started offering unlocked handsets here this month. According to a T-Mobile spokesman at this week’s NYC Pepcom event, the majority of that million-plus users are using handsets earlier than the iPhone 4 -- but that a “significant amount” of them had “taken the scissors” to their T-Mobile SIM cards as well.<br /><br />“T-Mobile doesn’t currently offer a Micro-SIM solution for Apple’s iPhone 4 so people who want to use the iPhone 4 must modify their SIMs into MicroSIMs,” 9to5Mac reports. “Those using iPhone 4s also won’t receive T-Mobile’s 3G or 4G data speeds because of the radio differences between the networks.”<br /><br />But life may soon get easier for would-be carrier jumpers: The same spokesman claims that Micro-SIMs are “in the works” at T-Mobile, but there’s no word on when that blessed event will occur.<br /><br />Could T-Mobile USA be officially getting the next iPhone come September? Anything’s possible, especially when there has been some recent evidence to support that an updated version of the iPhone 4 is at least being tested on the company’s GSM network. In the meantime, plenty of you are already rockin’ in a free world on the carrier’s EDGE-based data bands without Visual Voicemail, even though you’ll likely be coming back home next year when AT&amp;T consumes T-Mobile.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/tmobile_usa_one_million_unlocked_iphone_customers_served#commentsNews3gcell phone industryGSMiphone 4micro-simSIM cardT-MobileUnlockedUSAiPhoneThu, 23 Jun 2011 13:13:57 +0000J.R. Bookwalter11472 at http://www.maclife.comWhat is LTE?http://www.maclife.com/article/features/what_lte
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/lte-white-logo-reflected-rgb.jpg" alt="LTE logo" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>Wireless carriers like to toss around technology-laden acronyms such as 3G, EV-DO, HSPA, 4G and LTE as if we all have a degree in rocket science. The reality is, the average person doesn’t have the slightest clue what most of those mean -- so we’ll attempt to cut through the mystery of what some of them mean, beginning with the former, LTE.<br /><br /></p><h3>What Does It Stand For?</h3><p>“LTE” stands for Long-Term Evolution, itself an extension of the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, originally “Groupe Spécial Mobile”) technology currently used in the majority of the world (and specifically with AT&amp;T and T-Mobile in the United States).</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/cell_phone_tower_620px.jpg" alt="Cell phone tower" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>Before LTE: GSM vs. CDMA</h3><p>GSM is already capable of simultaneous voice and high-speed data with 3G, which is how you can surf the web on an AT&amp;T iPhone 3G or higher at the same time you’re talking on the handset. The easiest way to spot a GSM device is to look for the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, the small chip which contains unique information about your cell phone number and can easily be swapped among other unlocked GSM handsets.<br /><br />By comparison, Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.S. both use CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access), an older voice and data standard that doesn’t use a SIM card and isn’t widely used in other countries -- notable exceptions include South Korea, Japan and parts of South America. CDMA technology is also limited to either voice or data at any given time -- you can’t have both, even with 3G.</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/etsi-logo-620px.jpg" alt="ETSI logo" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>Who Came Up With LTE?</h3><p>The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI for short) is a group of chaps across the pond who establish standards for -- you guessed it -- the telecommunications business. Since ETSI is a non-profit organization, their primary interest is in being the bridge between the blokes who make the hardware (including cell phones) and the carriers whose networks they’ll work on.<br /><br />LTE comes to us courtesy of a partnership known as 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), itself an entity of ETSI, cell phone maker Nokia and others, and was first proposed as an international standard by NTT DoCoMo of Japan in 2004.<br /><br /></p><h3>Two Flavors of LTE</h3><p>In reality, there are two types of LTE -- the current “pre-4G” standard being rolled out by carriers who are touting it as 4G anyway, and LTE Advanced, which is the true “4G” you’ll see someday in the future. What’s currently being touted as “4G LTE” is really a baby step toward the eventual adoption of LTE Advanced, which will be backward compatible with today’s standard. For now, think of LTE as the building blocks to a faster future with a larger pipe than today’s technology can handle.</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/verizon_4g_lte_introduction_620px.jpg" alt="Verizon 4G LTE introduction" width="620" height="300" /></p><h3>Who’s Using LTE?</h3><p>LTE is the latest evolution of GSM, which promises to not only bring broadband-type speeds to mobile data connections, but also at last unify rival U.S. carriers AT&amp;T and Verizon. That’s because both companies have pledged to support their own “4G-ish” version of LTE, with Verizon kicking off those plans in late 2010 and anticipating extensive nationwide coverage by next year.<br /><br />What becomes of Verizon’s incompatible CDMA technology, you ask? For now, it’s still in place, with LTE essentially being laid on top of CDMA so that both types of devices can peacefully coexist during this transitionary phase. New LTE-capable smartphones such as the HTC ThunderBolt and the Samsung Droid Charge are actually still using CDMA for voice service, while the 4G data is piped over LTE -- though these handsets are still capable of using CDMA-based 3G data when LTE isn’t available.<br /><br />Verizon’s decision has pushed LTE ahead of competing 4G technologies such as Sprint’s WiMax, and should open the doors for customers of Big Red to enjoy international mobility with future devices thanks to interchangeable SIM cards -- that should come as good news to Verizon’s parent company Vodafone, the European carrier who has been one of the earliest proponents of LTE.</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/3g_vs_4g_620px.jpg" alt="3G vs. 4G" width="620" height="380" /></p><h3>Why Should We Care About LTE?</h3><p>The promise of LTE is speed and plenty of it -- the wireless technology is capable of offering 100Mbps download and at least 50Mbps upload, which runs circles around current mobile speeds and even eclipses most home broadband, whether it’s DSL or cable.<br /><br />In reality, LTE speeds will be more modest for the immediate future, with Verizon promising download speeds between 5-12 Mbps and uploads of up to 5Mbps. AT&amp;T, while further behind on their rollout than rival Verizon, recently demonstrated download speeds of 28.87Mbps and uploads of 10.4Mbps -- although those numbers will drop significantly in the real world. In any event, it’s much faster than the company’s current HSPA speeds, which max out at 7.2Mbps, although real-world results are often half of that.<br /><br />Ultimately, the goal with LTE is to increase the capacity of wireless networks in order to tackle the ever-increasing data bottleneck as more and more smartphones, tablets and devices yet to come start filling up networks worldwide. Remember, these are comparatively early days in high-speed wireless, and at the rate Apple and others continue to add new customers for their products, the best is yet to come.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/features/what_lte#comments3g3GPP4GCDMAcell phone industrydownload speedsETSIGSMLTEVerizon WirelesswirelessFeaturesiPhoneFri, 20 May 2011 17:00:30 +0000J.R. Bookwalter11035 at http://www.maclife.comiTunes Cloud Media Service Likely Revealed in Newly-Discovered Patenthttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/itunes_cloud_media_service_likely_revealed_newlydiscovered_patent
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/apple_cloud_media_patent_200px.jpg" alt="Apple cloud media patent" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />By now, it should be obvious that Apple has eyes on cloud-based media, particularly for iTunes music. After acquiring the iCloud.com domain and now reports that two of the big four music labels have signed up, along comes a new patent discovery dating back to late 2009 that starts to bring Cupertino’s plans into focus.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/05/whoa-apple-patent-confirms-itunes-cloud-media-services.html" target="_blank">Patently Apple is reporting</a> on the discovery of an Apple patent application dating back to late 2009 which seems to confirm that not only is the company putting some grand ambitions on cloud-based streaming, but they also plan to tackle it in their usual user-friendly way -- especially when compared to current offerings from Amazon and Google which are quite the opposite.<br /><br />Apple’s patent describes a “seamless and invisible to the user” method which essentially allows a mobile device to cache part of a music track or video file on the device itself, which is then played as the rest is being buffered from a cloud server in the background. The concept would presumably offer the best of both worlds -- “instant on” playback from an internet connection, while requiring much less local storage space.<br /><br />“This invention is directed to playing back streamed media items using an electronic device,” Patently Apple reveals. “In particular, this is directed to locally storing one or more clips corresponding to a media item such that the clips can be immediately played back in response to a user request to play back the media item. While the clips are played back, the electronic device can retrieve the remaining segments of the media item from the user's media library as a media stream over a communications network. Once the playback of the clip is complete, the electronic device can seamlessly switch playback to the media stream received from the user's library. The electronic device can authenticate with the remote library using any suitable approach, including for example one or more passwords and tokens.”</p><p><img src="/files/u220903/itunes_sync_partial_music_620px.jpg" alt="Future iTunes &quot;sync partial music&quot; patent" width="620" height="518" /></p><p>Apple’s patent includes the diagram above, which clearly shows a new option intended for a future version of iTunes called “Sync partial music,” with an option to the right for “Minimum Connection Speed.” In this case, a 3G connection (or less) would be required to initiate the option and more of the content would be cached -- anything faster, such as a Wi-Fi connection in the home, would stream without it.<br /><br />If it all sounds potentially complicated, that’s because it is -- but we’re guessing by the time Apple actually implements this, it will work as seamlessly as users have come to expect from Cupertino. How soon it will be implemented is anyone’s guess…<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Image courtesy of Patently Apple)</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/itunes_cloud_media_service_likely_revealed_newlydiscovered_patent#commentsNews3gcloud servicesdigital videoiCloudiOSiTunesMusicPatently ApplePatentsStreaming mediaiPadiPhoneiPodThu, 19 May 2011 21:27:45 +0000J.R. Bookwalter11033 at http://www.maclife.com